by Gordon Franz
This essay is dedicated to Dr. Gabriel “Goby” Barkay and Zachi Zweig, co-directors of the Temple Mount Sifting Project; and to the tens of thousands who have sifted the dirt from the Holy Hill of Zion (Psalm 102:14)
Introduction
It is always the archaeologist’s dream to find inscriptional material, such as a seal, bulla, stela, [...]
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14Jun
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15Jun
By Gordon Franz
Some have raised the objection that Mount Sinai could not be in the Sinai Peninsula because millions of Israelites died during the Wilderness Wanderings and no graves of any of these Israelites have been discovered in the Sinai Peninsula from this period. Recently we received such an inquiry at the Associates for Biblical [...] -
29Apr
By Gordon Franz
Introduction
The consequence of King Uzziah’s military strategy associated with his foreign policy is summarized by a proverb of wise King Solomon. He stated: “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). Let us examine the geography of King Uzziah’s military expansionist policies and show how these policies led [...] -
20Apr
By Gordon Franz
The last ten years has witnessed the proliferation of books, videos, websites and television programs that have proposed a new site for Mt. Sinai – Jebel al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia. They also told about underwater searches for Pharaoh’s chariots and weapons from the Egyptian army. This paper examines three aspects of the identification [...] -
20Apr
By Gordon Franz
Where was the Red Sea Crossing?
The location of the Red Sea Crossing is a hotly debated topic and I would like to throw my two cents worth into the debate. There are two studies that I have found to be very helpful and would highly recommend them. The first is Dr. James Hoffmeier’s [...] -
20Apr
By Gordon Franz
The Chronology from Rameses to the Red Sea
Bible geographers who deal with the Exodus take the three encampments from Rameses to the Red Sea, i.e. Succoth, Etham and Migdol, to refer to three days of travel. The Bible does not explicitly say this.
Joel McQuitty made an interesting suggestion back in 1986. He suggested [...] -
04Feb
By Gordon Franz
Introduction
Sefar Ya’akov, written by Ya’akov Ben-Zavdai, was addressed to Messianic Jews residing in the Diaspora, outside of Eretz Yis-rael. This small epistle, only five chapters long, has a distinct Jewish flavor based on the teachings of Yeshua ha-Mashiach.
I believe that James, the son of Zebedee, wrote this epistle soon after AD 30, [...] -
04Feb
By Gordon Franz
The Book of Job, the oldest book in the Bible, has its historical-geographical setting in the Land of Uz. The book begins, “There was a man in the Land of Uz, whose name was Job; and the man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1 NKJV).
THE [...] -
04Feb
By Gordon Franz
Introduction
The headline of the Science Section of the New York Times for Tuesday, September 28, 2004 read, “Solving a Riddle Written in Silver.” I recognized the picture underneath the headline right away. It was a portion of a silver amulet that was discovered in Jerusalem in 1979. The article described the scholarly debate [...] -
04Feb
By Gordon Franz
[Disclaimer: If there are any similarities in this discussion between Ashurbanipal II and his Assyrian troops and Saddam Hussein and the Republican guards, it is purely coincidental. Having said that, it is my position Saddam Hussein is not discussed in the Book of Nahum, nor are automobiles on the LA Freeway (cf. Nahum [...]